Mayor Stokes, Chevy Chase residents and Bellevue Transportation Department staff celebrated completion of the first improvements funded by the Neighborhood Safety, Connectivity and Congestion levy. The new sections of sidewalk are located on Northeast 15th Street, near 148th Avenue Northeast. Madison Miller/Reporter intern

Bellevue Chevy Chase residents, along with elected officials, celebrated the completion of the first levy-funded project funded by the Neighborhood Safety, Connectivity and Congestion levy with a kickoff event on July 6.

The Neighborhood Safety, Connectivity and Congestion levy will fund projects to reduce congestion, build safety projects, implement technology for safety and traffic management, enhance maintenance activities as well as add new bike lanes, sidewalks and pathways.

This levy is part of a 20-year transportation levy that Bellevue voters approved last November.

The new Chevy Chase neighborhood sidewalk improvements are part of a larger 38 levy-funded transportation projects in the Crossroads area that the City Council identified, scheduled for the 2017-2018 cycle.

“These levy projects are to address a backlog of projects the community wanted, but we didn’t have the resources to do in a timely way. The levy helps us get these things done faster and benefit the community,” said Bellevue Transportation Public Information Officer David Grant.

The levy will raise $140 million over 20 years (15 cents per $1,000 of assessed value), or $7 million per year.

Mayor John Stokes, along with Councilmembers Lynne Robinson and Conrad Lee, were at the event.

“To be able to come out and see something now, so quickly, is really great,” Stokes said at the event. “It might not be glamorous but, for residents who walk in the Chevy Chase neighborhood, they will experience how these sidewalk improvements can make neighborhoods more livable. This is just the beginning.”

A commemorative project sign was unveiled to mark completion of the first levy-funded transportation improvement.

Community members were excited to receive new sidewalks in their neighborhood.

“We’ve got a lot of people walking here. People feel safe walking and bringing their kids to the park here because they know the residents,” said Chase Community Club Executive Board Treasurer Judi Miller. “We’ve also got people here who don’t walk so easily, at times I’ve been one, and it’s important that this is fixed. I think this is something everyone will appreciate.”

For more information on the levy projects, visit https://transportation.bellevuewa.gov/projects/transportation-levy-projects.